Riverhead Town issued a stop-work order last week to the developer of the Summerwind Farms subdivision on Peconic Bay Boulevard, after clearing and site-preparation work took place without permits.
The stop-work order, dated Aug. 11 and posted at the project site , cites violations of Riverhead Town Code sections 217-10 and 217-11. A handwritten notation on the order, signed by Riverhead Building Inspector Robert Muller, states: “Subdivision does not have final approval. No land clearing permit.”
That finding tracks a condition imposed by the Planning Board when it granted preliminary plat approval for the Summerwind Farms major subdivision on March 19. The resolution states that no land-clearing permits for construction of any roadway or infrastructure related to the proposed development may be issued before the final map is filed with the Suffolk County Clerk.
Final plat approval has not been granted, according to the stop-work order posted at the site.
The order says work at the property may resume only after required town building, use, land-clearing or demolition permits are obtained; an approved site plan is issued by the Planning Board; and all other required approvals from agencies with jurisdiction are received.
Alison Lapoint, the Cetilman Balin attorney who represented the applicant before the Planning Board, did not respond to a phone call or email seeking comment.
The Summerwind Farms proposal calls for a residential cluster subdivision on a 30.128-acre property near Reeves Creek. The preliminary plat approval resolution describes a 16-lot subdivision at 200 Peconic Bay Boulevard, with agricultural reserve areas, open space, a proposed road, drainage infrastructure and water-main extensions.
But the March 19 approval was preliminary and subject to numerous conditions before the Planning Board chairman may sign a final map. Those conditions included: submission of a final plat; revisions to satisfy the Planning Board’s consulting engineer; town engineer approval of a stormwater pollution prevention plan; Suffolk County health department approval; an earthwork plan; any required fill permit from the Town Board and final Town Board approval for water-main construction.
Riverhead Town Code section 217-10 says that where site-plan review is required, no person or company may undertake grading, clearing, cutting or tree removal without first obtaining a land-clearing permit from the building inspector. Section 217-14 authorizes stop orders when the building inspector has reasonable grounds to believe building or land-clearing work is being performed in violation of town code or approved plans.
The stop-work order follows concerns voiced by neighbors, who say clearing and site-preparation work began in mid-June despite the subdivision lacking final approval. In an Aug. 14 letter to Supervisor Jerry Halpin and the rest of the Town Board, the Planning Board, Town Clerk James Wooten and the town attorneys, residents said work at the property included tree and brush removal, temporary power installation, fenced and graveled areas and other apparent site-preparation activity.
Residents said the clearing along Peconic Bay Boulevard went far beyond the developer’s prior public representations that brush would merely be thinned.
The residents also questioned whether town Highway Department personnel or equipment participated in clearing near Peconic Bay Boulevard. Their letter says Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski told residents the work was necessary to address a long-standing blind spot.
That’s exactly what Zaleski believed at the time, Deputy Town Attorney Annmarie Prudenti said in a phone interview Tuesday. Zaleski was responding to a request for assistance from Asplundh, a longtime tree-trimming and maintenance contractor for the town highway department, Prudenti said.
Asplundh called Zaleski about two months ago to say they were addressing a blind spot in the highway right-of-way on Peconic Bay Boulevard at the request of the town planning department and needed the highway department’s assistance, Prudenti said.
“Since then, the highway department became aware based upon the plethora of violations of town code that have gone on at this property…he has now learned he was provided with this false information,” Prudenti said.
In their Aug. 14 letter, residents are asking the town to inspect the site, publicly document what work was done and when, identify what permits or approvals were in effect, determine who authorized the work and decide whether restoration, penalties or other enforcement measures are warranted.
They also want the matter placed before the Planning Board at a public meeting and want the board to determine whether clearing already performed altered the site conditions the board was expected to evaluate during its subdivision review.
“The Stop Work Order should not be viewed as the end of this matter,” residents wrote. “It should be the beginning of a thorough examination of how this situation was allowed to occur and what consequences should follow.”
Supervisor Jerry Halpin said in an interview Tuesday he has asked the town building department, the code enforcement division and the town attorney’s office to “bring the full weight of those departments for someone who has a total disregard for the procedure and process.”
“I promised people it would no longer be easier to ask for forgiveness than permission,” he said, referring to an issue he raised during last year’s campaign for supervisor concerning perceived favoritism or leniency in enforcement of local codes.
“I’m not trying to set an example. I’m trying to set a standard [for] how business [and] development should be done in Riverhead,” Halpin said.
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